February Floods?

It rained so much last night, combined with melting snow, that several steets were flooded today.  Luckily for me everything was pretty much back to normal by 6 PM when I went to work.

I worked 4.14 hours, took 13 deliveries, made $30 in tips, and drove 52 miles.

A few deliveries stood out:

• Got tipped $1 by a waitress at a bar.  It is not cool to get stiffed (or low tips) by other tipped employees!
• Had a customer with a $13.99 order that paid with a $20.  He asked for $5 back.  I asked if he wanted a five or 5 ones.  He said, "Just 4 ones."  Asking the question got me an extra buck!
• The very next customer had the exact same situation and asked for $5 back.  I asked the same question and they wanted the five-dollar bill.  I guess it doesn't work every time.
• Final delivery of the night instructed the phone person (Driver Matt) to tell the driver to "Knock Hard."  Then they also taped a note to the outside of their door that said "Knock Hard."  I knocked hard and she came to the door right away.  I guess I did ok!

Learning To Tip

I meant to write about this last night, but by the time I came home, showered, and sat down to blog, I must have forgotten.

It was my 2nd delivery. I had my bank of $15, and my $1 tip from my first delivery, a total of $16. The check was $21.99.

The customer had several $20 bills. He gave me one and asked the other guy in the house if he had a dollar. The other guy said he did not. They both dug in their pockets for a while. One asked if I took coins, and I replied, "Money is money."

The first guy handed me a 2nd $20 bill and asked if I could make change. I said that I had $16, which would leave me with a $2 tip. The guy looked confused.

I took both $20's and handed him back the $16. He asked again how much I owed him. I said, "I owe you $18. I gave you $16 so that leaves me with $2. Are we cool?"

The other guy came back from the other room with no more money. The first guy reached out and shook my hand. I guessed we were cool. I thanked him and went on my way. Probably the first time he ever tipped the pizza guy, but I hope it won't be his last!

Good Friday - Not Quite Grant

I drove tonight from 6-close, 7 hours on the road. This is the longest shift I've worked in a few months! It started off pretty slow, of my first 8 deliveries I only had 1 tip of $3 or more.

But then overe the final 9 deliveries, I had 5 tips of $4 or more! And it was raining more during the first half of the night!

My only stiff of the night was on a delivery to the McDonald's restaurant right across the street!

All together I took 17 deliveries, drove just 51 miles (most of the time listening to the Indians rain delay), and made $48 in tips. I was really hoping to get to $50 (Ulysses S Grant) but I didn't quite make it.

Maybe tomorrow. (Yes, I close again on Saturday night).

Friday Night Freeze

Tonight was probably the coldest night I've delivered in. When I drove past the hopistal the sign said -2. Weather.com now says it is -10. I wore running tights under my pants to make sure I stayed warm, and I traded my regular uniform cap for a Browns stocking cap every time I went outside.

I got several good ($3 or more) tips but amazingly even in the cold weather I still got stiffed 4 times on 17 runs. One guy even joked, "It's a nice night for pizza delivery, as long as you're the one getting delivered too."

We were pretty busy up until 10 PM, in fact both of my first 2 trips were 4-baggers. (Well, 4 deliveries, we were actually short on bags and I had to double up.) I ended up driving 7 hours, taking 17 runs, travelling 51 miles, and making $40 in tips.

I plan to be working usually 1-2 days each week for a while now. The cash really comes in handy for allowances, school lunches, and things like that. When I'm driving regularly I almost never have to make ATM withdrawals, but in the past month I've been making a withdrawal almost every week.

Five Stiffs (one per hour)

Well I called off my day job sick, and was hoping to just work a couple hours tonight, but the other closing driver Chris had already called off with the flu before I got in, so I was stuck working my scheduled shift from 6-12.

The bad omen for the night came on my very first delivery. A woman gave me $20 for her $18.07 order and was fishing around in her purse for the 7 cents. She handed me a dime saying, "Just give me the $2 back, don't worry about the 3 cents."

Thanks alot!

This was the first of 5 customers tonight who decided not to tip me. The next 4 were troublesome orders in one way or another, besides being non-tippers.

• The girl with the gift card who apparently wasn't even paying for her food.
• The guy who tried to pay for his $28.87 order with a $100 bill. I took it to make change to the Gas USA 2 blocks away, the site of a murder just 6 months ago. Does he really think I should carry that much change in that neighborhood?
• The girl who gave us a wrong phone number and we couldn't confirm their order.
• The couple who's dad had paid by credit card, so I couldn't get a physical imprint of the credit card.

Best tip of the night was $3.79.

Totals for the night were 5 hours, 14 deliveries, $22 in tips, and 64 miles driven. A big thanks goes out to cooks Mona for keeping up with the dishes, and Alicia, for doing most of the dough-prep.

Closing Time

Something happened tonight that reminded me of the popular song by Semisonic, Closing Time. The phone rang about 11 PM and as driver Chris went to answer it, he asked manager Mike, "Are we still open?"

Mike said, "Until 1" at about the same time as I said, "It's Friday."

Chris admitted that having Thursday off, he had gotten his days mixed up. We are open until 11 on Sunday-Thursday but stay open 2 more hours on Friday and Saturday nights.

Earlier in the night, I had an interesting delivery. The customer advised me to "be safe" remarking that she had read the papers, and her daugher is a driver for a local mom & pop pizzeria. I then told her that I was the guy from the newspaper. "With the 5 kids?" she asked, and I had to correct her and tell her we have 7.

Oh and the Marco's guy ordered wings again. He works at the Marco's in Amherst.

I had a delivery to South Park apartments, where we have never gone before, for safety reasons. The customer met me up front at the security gate and tipped $2, so I guess it's ok.

One delivery late in the night, the guy not only stiffed me but had me change a $20. His order was for $18.28 so I thought he wanted more $1's to be able to tip, but all he left me with was the coin change (which is not a tip).

Totals for the night were 7 hours, 16 runs, $33 in tips, and 58 miles.

Wierd Night

Again, I'm trying to work my way back onto the schedule and was available tonight. I called in and driver Chris was willing to leave around 7:30 so I went in to work from then until close. I drove for 3 1/2 hours, drove 38 miles on 8 deliveries, and made $17 in tips.

My first run was out of our area to the south-east. I did get a $4.73 tip so I didn't complain too much.

My third run was just a few blocks up the street. The man asked me if I wanted a job cleaning his garage as he "tipped" me 73 cents. I respectfully declined.

Next was a double that should have been Nick's but he got greed and took 2 that didn't go together the time before, so he wasn't back in time. I got $2 at the first house and $5 at the 2nd house, again out of the area. The girl customer showed me her new piercing, a star on the back of her neck (like this).

After that I went out of the area for the 3rd time of the night, this time supposedly because the next store over wasn't answerring their phones. The customer wasn't home, just some small kids, who said their mom was walking the dog. The pizza was paid by credit card and a man arriving in the driveway said he would sign for it, but of course he didn't feel he could tip since it wasn't his card.

The end of the night was marked by manager Desiree declaring that we were "about $130 short", but she had miscounted 3 stacks of 50 $1's as stacks of 100 so we were actually ok.

Buying Money

The stars aligned for me to make some good money in my first 3 hours tonight, but then business slowed down and I actually went home an hour early. Between 5 and 8:30, I took 2 triples, a double, and 3 singles, and I made $31 on those 11 deliveries. During that time I had 7 tips over $2.50 and my lowest tip was $2.

It was about this time that manager Nick realized we were out of $1 dollar bills. He gave me $150 and sent me out to "buy some." I was able to get $25 at the Convenient, $45 at the Circle K, and $60 at Speedway. Thanks to my local clerks!

But unfortunately, my luck changed during this time. In the next 3 1/2 hours, I took 6 singles and a double, made $12, got stiffed twice, and only one tip over $2.04.

All in all it was a good night, with 7 hours, 18 deliveries, $43 in tips, and 59 miles driven.

Good Night Gone Bad

I walked in the door tonight and was immediately dispatched on a triple. We were so busy we didn't have enough bags. I had to squeeze 2 deliveries into one hot bag. An hour later I almost had to take a pizza wrapped in my coat!

On my first trip (three deliveries) I made $10 in tips. In my first hour I took 5 deliveries and made $12.

In my next 4 1/2 hours I took 5 deliveries and made another $11. Business just died almost instantly. So bad that I asked to go home an hour before we closed. Dishes were done, frozen dough prep was done, and the phone was ringing about once an hour.

Totals for the night were 5 1/2 hours driving, 10 deliveries, 34 miles, and $23 in tips.

Only interesting delivery was a guy who tipped me $1.29 and then asked me to break a $20 for him so he could pay his girl for bringing him cigarettes.

Making Change

We had a new driver tonight, Ted. He's in his late 30's and has a 2nd wife and 5 kids in all. We can understand each other's reason's for driving pizza! He seems like a good guy and a hard worker.

I drove for 7 1/2 hours, took 18 deliveries, drove 66 miles, and made $38 in tips. That's a pretty decent night, especially volume-wise.

When we check in we are given a "bank" of $15, a $5 and ten $1's. As the night goes on the driver may add another $5 or a few singles to his bank, but he "drops" cash to the manager throughout the night so as not to be a target for thieves.

I had a few interesting things happen tonight while "making change." First off, my first order was for $22.83. I realized that if the customer paid with 2 $20's, I couldn't make correct change, so I borrowed a $5 from the drawer, with manager approval.

Sure enough, the customer paid with 2 $20's and asked for $14 back, leaving me with a nice $3.17 tip. Then the customer asked, "That's not going to short you on one's, is it?" I told him I was fine, but it was odd as I've never had a customer ask that before.

Several deliveries later, I had a customer pay her $7.58 order with a $10 and a $1. Anytime the customer hands me a $1 along with the rest of their money, it's a pretty safe assumption that they don't expect change, as any change (other than coin change which I almost never carry) would include a $1 back to them.

Later I had a delivery for $28.32. The woman paid with 2 $20's and asked for a $5 and five $1's back, leaving me with $1.68 tip. She then handed me $2 more back. I'm not sure why she didn't just ask for $8 back in the first place?

Finally, for the 3rd night in a row I had the displeasure of delivering to 316 S. M., the serial stiffer that never tips. Their check was $9.71 so before I left, I changed in $1 and put 71 cents in one pocket and 29 cents in the other. After the guy handed me $10, I slowly dumped the 29 cents into his hand, before I gave him his food. He had a disgusted "I don't need your 29 cents" look on his face. Well now he knows how we drivers feel!

Symmetry

My first and last deliveries were identical (and nice) tonight. Each was for 1 pizza for $15.58. Each customer paid with a $20. Each customer instructed me that no change was necessary! Very nice!

Nick also had an interesting thing happen tonight. I was washing dishes and he brought me the calculator. Our cash in the store should have been $543.21.

I took 8 deliveries (plus 1 rerun) in 5 hours, drove 44 miles, and made $24 in tips.

AROD vs. Pizza Delivery Guy

I found this site that compares your annual salary to that of baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

For a pizza driver salary, I used my most recent hourly total of $13.57 x 40 hours x 52 weeks = $28225.6.

The Stat Attack A-Rod-O-Meter - YOUR ANNUAL PAY: $28,226

A-ROD is expected to sign a ten-year contract with the Yankees with a base salary of $27.5 million per year. It would take you 974.3 years to earn that much.

A-ROD would make $2,291,667 per month. It would take you 81.2 years to earn that much.

A-ROD would make $528,846 per week. It would take you 18.7 years to earn that much.

A-ROD would make $169,753 per game. It would take you 6.0 years to earn that much.

A-ROD would make $38,842 per plate appearance. It would take you 1.4 years to earn that much.

A-ROD would make $18,861 per inning. A-ROD earns your annual salary every 1.5 innings.

Tooth Fairy

At one of my deliveries tonight, I got a $20 bill with a note written on it in red. "Sorry I missed you, Love, The Tooth Fairy." I used to get a quarter. I think I grew up in the wrong house!

We had a weird thing happen tonight, a customer came in for a pick-up and their food wasn't on the warming rack. A little investigation showed that Desiree was at their home delivering it. A little further investigation showed that the customer had no order history. That means this was the first time they called.

If they wanted pick-up, why did they give us their address???

Totals for the night were 4.5 hours driving, 7 deliveries, 22 miles, and $13 in tips.

Who Needs It More?

I had a very frustrating night tonight.

It actually started ok, all things considered. The Hyundai is still in the shop so I have been driving the Taurus. Well we had the front brakes fixed several months ago but left the rear brakes at that time. Over the past month, the brakes have been getting softer and softer and I was really concerned, so much that I was considering driving our 3rd vehicle, a 1987 GMC Vandura.

Luckily, though, we were able to get the Taurus in for a brake job this afternoon. We took it to the local Tuffy shop. The total cost was $500 but luckily again, they give a 10% AAA discount!

On to the pizza deliveries. My night was ruined on my 4th delivery. The total check was $32.06. I went to the door and when the customer asked how much, I told him. He gave me $32 (1 x $20, 2 x $5, 2 x $2) and then went back into his house to get change. He came back with a $5, saying he didn't really want to break it.

I counted him back 4 $1's and he stood there, waiting for more. I reached into my pocket, let him know that I was out of coin change, and handed him back another $1.

He still owed my 6 cents but I wasn't going to waste any more time.

But no, he said "Hang on, I have some more coming back." He said he gave me $37, and I agreed and told him that I gave him $5 back and the bill was $32.06. He tried to argue some more, and ended up saying "I guess you need it more than I do."

I let him know that he still owed me 6 cents but it wasn't worth my time, and walked away.

I had 4 other stiffs on the night, a total of 5 in just 17 deliveries. An awful ratio. Totals for the night were 7.5 hours, 17 deliveries, $30 in tips, and 76 miles.

I started with a full tank and gassed up at the end of the night for 3.85 gallons, so I was getting exactly 20 MPG. I guess that's decent for such a big car, but I really hope I can get my Hyundai back soon.

Make Money Blogging?

Not me.

Now my blog is not the most popular website by far. In fact, according to Alexa, it is not even in the top 6 1/2 million, coming in at 6,506,239. Still, it does get a few regular visitors. I've been tracking unique visitors since March:

• March 2007 - 1642
• April 2007 - 1069
• May 2007 - 745
• June 2007 - 556
• July 2007 - 924

That's over 30 visits per day, and 45 page loads.

As you may have noticed, I am set up for Google Adsense. Adsense pays for advertising impressions and pays much more for ad-clicks. Now, Adsense has been running longer, since January. Adsense shows 11,381 page impressions, or slightly over 50 per day. In those 7 months, my ads have been clicked on a grand total of 27 times, and Google owes me $7.63. When my balance gets over $100 they will cut me a check!

I also have an Amazon Associates link. So far, since February, there have been 30 clicks on my Amazon link. I'll get a 4% commission if anybody ever buys anything, but so far, nobody has.

I also have a PayPerPost account, but so far, there haven't been any topics that really apply to my blog. Basically, I'm not posting what they're paying for. I did see that they are paying $5 to write about SiteMighty, an affiliate site for credit cards, but by the time I checked it out, that opportunity was gone. The good news is, now if you need a credit card, I can help!

In summary, I'm making about $1.50 per month on average. If I keep it up for 5 years I may actually hit $100 and get paid! But on a per-hour basis, it's definitely not a profitable use of my time.

Direct Deposit

Our company went high-tech today. Our franchise owns almost 100 pizzerias in northern Ohio, all franchises of the same "Big 3" pizza chain.

We get paid every other 2 weeks on a Friday, in other words, today!

Well about 2 months ago management collected a voided check from all employees. Today I checked my online banking and sure enough, my paycheck is already in there!

Some people prefer a paper check but I much prefer direct deposit!

Making Change

One of the most challenging parts of pizza delivery is keeping the correct amount of money in your "bank." A driver's "bank" is his money that he carries to make change with. We start the night with a $15 bank provided by the store, one $5 and ten $1's.

Drivers are encouraged to "drop" money regularly so as to not become a target for theft. I make drops whenever I accumulate a large amount, and whenever I am heading to a dangerous neighborhood, especially after dark.

Tonight my first delivery was a credit card order with a credit card tip. Thus I didn't even touch my bank. (We get out tips at the end of the night).

Next was a $14.08 order. The customer paid with $20.08 and got $3 back for a $3 tip. Now my bank had one $20, one $5, and seven $1's.

Next order was $19.58. The customer paid with $22 for a $2.42 tip. Now my bank had two $20's, one $5, and nine $1's.

Next order was a triple. The middle order of the triple was a credit card, but if I would have thought about it, I should have changed one of my $20's. But I didn't.

The first customer paid with a $50 (and 8 cents) for an order of $17.08. I owed him back $33 so that took one $20, one $5, and eight $1's. He gave me back $4 as a tip. Now my bank was one $50, one $20, and five $1's.

The final order of the triple was $23.55. Sure enough, the customer paid with two $20's. I owed him $16 as change but all I had was big bills and five $1's. I had to drive up to the end of the block to a drive-through beverage store and ask for change.

They were nice enough to make change, but I hate having to do that. It looks bad to the customer and it's a waste of my time.

Totals for the night, 5 hours driving, 11 deliveries, 40 miles, $27 in tips. Pretty good night for a Monday.